Where are the Women in Oil and Gas?

Annette Williams, director of the UK Resource Centre, says that targeting women to fill the offshore skills gap is a matter of not only urgent importance, but common sense.

For many, the idea of working in the oil and gas industry conjures images of brawny men doing dirty work in isolated locations far from their families. No points then for guessing why working in the sector might not appeal to women, who have historically been under-represented among employees offshore.

But now with a skills shortage looming, the oil and gas sector is coming to realise that women are its most valuable resource, and that raising their participation requires changing both the image and the reality of work in the industry. Understanding, though, is not execution. How well are oil and gas employers doing in attracting women workers and how could they improve their efforts?

Numbers don’t lie

Currently female workers make up just 21% of the oil and gas workforce in the UK, as compared with nearly half of the total workforce over all industries. And the statistics are similar around the world. In Canada, participation rates are 24%, and in Norway, 20%.

What these figures don’t show, however, is the distribution of job roles; the majority of which are in sales, administration, catering, and service positions. So when the UK Office of National Statistics reports a 17% deficit of skilled workers in positions higher up the ladder, the need to increase female presence in these on-site and senior level roles becomes evident.

Women into the pool

Annette Williams, director of the UK Resource Centre, an organisation dedicated to assisting women in the science, engineering and technology (SET) sectors, says that targeting women to fill these roles is a matter of not only urgent importance, but common sense.

“The pool of young men who would usually be filling these positions is diminishing,” she says. “Meanwhile, in the UK, women are outperforming men in science subjects at virtually every level. So why ignore the talent of half the population?”

Losing women at every level

The reasons for women's low participation in the oil and gas sector are multifaceted, stemming from the industry's history as a male-dominated workforce, its image as providing very physical, often remotely located, masculine-oriented roles, and its ingrained corporate culture that makes men feel more comfortable and prepared to succeed than women.

"Because the SET industries have been largely dominated by men, the way in which the industries operate often appeal and speak to men more than they do to women," says Williams.

This perception (which is also often the reality) sees that women are sifted out at various points of the education timeline - beginning with school as they choose their subjects, through to choosing their university degree.

"We lose women at each different stage, but what's really worrying is that even when women study these disciplines, only a small proportion actually follow a career in those fields," says Williams, adding that of those women with qualifications in SET, only 25% go into working in these fields.

Reasons for under-representation

One of the primary discouraging factors for women looking for a career in oil and gas is the lack of effective work and family balance policies. As men have traditionally dominated the industry, many workplace policies are based on the assumption that the employee will always be present, without the need to carry out domestic care duties or take career breaks.

Inadequate return-to-work policies are also seeing high employment attrition rates among women over the age of 35 who, if they decide to return, are often forced to downgrade their role or take on a part time position, usually with lower pay.

Career advancement in the oil and gas sector is also largely dependent on the employee being highly mobile, able to work on field sites and work remotely for long periods – all of which conflict with the caring responsibilities of most women.

Issues of isolation, the potential for harassment, and decreased networking opportunities in male-dominated environments also dissuade women from entering the industry.

Solutions

For a long time, says Williams, the mentality towards women has been – what can they do to fit into the industry? But that’s beginning to change.

“I think that companies are starting to see that if they want to attract women then there are changes they have to make structurally and culturally to the way in which they do business so they make women feel like they could have a successful career, and like this is a company they could actually fit into and progress in,” she says.

Introducing diversity management policies is the number one point in a Canadian report outlining Best Practices for the Retention of Women Scientists and Engineers in the Oil and Gas Sector. The most effective policies, it says, will address issues such as childcare and summer care options, harassment prevention, gender awareness and diversity sensitive recruitment. Part time or job share options for mothers returning to work is also crucial for retaining women of a parenting age.

“I think that’s where a lot of employers are losing out,” says Williams. “If they looked a lot more creatively and positively at part time working options and job shares they would find they’ve got very good women who would give it their all.”

“Not employing someone full time could mean there’s a bit of surplus cash to employ someone in a lower grade in a support role to help that woman,” she adds.

Marketing to women

Creative and thoughtful recruitment techniques tailored for women will also help with attraction. Setting targets, tapping into women’s networks, avoiding gender stereotyping in marketing material and using positive role models to give speeches at schools and universities are some of Williams’ suggestions.

“Like any marketing, you have to speak to women, and you have to understand the needs of women. The offer has to be attractive to what women perceive as important. It’s thinking through what are the perceptions of women towards those industries and how they can break those down,” she says.

By Jodie McLeod

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